Try to imagine how people are so bounded by time. We get up in the morning and rush ourselves to our first activity of the day. Take a bath; eat bread/cookies; brush our teeth; read a book or perhaps the latest news. In whatever ways we start and end our day, we all are certain to squeeze in all activities in our 24-hour psychological time.
So what is it about this vast word? I close my eyes and think of how every person relates to time. Metaphorically speaking, I see a bunch of individuals walking in different pace. If one stops moving, he could be left behind. If one runs too fast, he might miss a lot.
In my wildest attempt to define it, here’s my opinion about what we usually hear on this subject.
1. Time matters. I agree.
Time is not something I own until today has been given. Every second lost is either a misplaced gram of gold or a locked-out treasured piece of it. It can only be savored but it can never be restored. We are all blessed with time, but it is something we can only use once it has been given. It is given once. It cannot co-exist. If you missed to use a second of it, you lose that chance forever.
2. Time heals all wounds. I disagree.
Does time heal all wounds? No. But as we run with time, we move away from the memories that killed us. It does not heal but it only makes us forget what used to consume us in that point of time. So we find ourselves in the middle of two realities: The reality of the past and the reality of the present. So time never heals. It only makes us cross over one reality from another, and on that sense, acceptance is what we need to get across.
3. There is a right time for everything. I agree.
The first reason why I agree on this is because that is written in the Bible. The definition of the word “right” in this verse is an appointed time, and not “right” as opposed to “wrong”. A time has been set for every activity on earth. The second reason has something to do with beliefs and priorities. (I should right another blog for this)
FYI, I did not spend my entire life trying to define this noise that ticks relentlessly in the head. But getting triggered by Tozer’s idea of it, I saw how many of us have been affected by our view on this topic. It is psychological, that it could dictate our actions.
Do you know that God is not concerned with time? I learned from Tozer that unlike humans, God does not run with time. I quote, “God has no yesterdays and no tomorrows. He can’t have yesterdays and tomorrows, because yesterday is time and tomorrow is time, but God surrounds it all and God has already lived tomorrow.”
When the Bible said, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow”, it was referring to our today, our yesterday, and our tomorrow, and not His.
Is it not a wonderfully liberating thought? God is so powerful that nothing can control Him; and on that matter, do I need to mention that He is in control of everything? So just when we think it’s too late, or too early, and things become hopeless in our watch, that is never the case when it comes to God. (Insert a big-wonderfully-amazed smiley)
So what if God is not bounded by time and has lived our past, present, and future? I am trying to grasp; that while I imagine people to be inside the box of time, the Lord has, once again amazed me with His power magnified by how He shows Himself to be above everything. Even over a thing which I thought has controlled me.
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Now the questions are: How are we using this limited human resource? Where are we investing it? How do you define time? 🙂
Jesus Avenue 